


Necessity

by Ermingarde



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, MayThe4th Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:34:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23991634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ermingarde/pseuds/Ermingarde
Summary: Padawan Depa takes a life for the first time.  Mace helps her through the aftermath.
Relationships: Depa Billaba & Mace Windu
Comments: 11
Kudos: 45
Collections: Jedi-Friendly, May the 4th Be With You Star Wars Fanworks Exchange 2020





	Necessity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Independence1776](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Independence1776/gifts).



> A tiny treat for Indy - thank you for encouraging me to participate in this exchange!

His Padawan stood silently at his side, her face carefully composed. As much as Mace longed to reassure her, he knew it would have to wait until they had taken leave of their hosts - the treaty was signed, but they couldn't risk disturbing a still-precarious situation with any perceived rudeness. Instead, he reached out in the Force.  _ You did well _ , he tried to tell her. Communication through the Force was imprecise, and he knew she wouldn't hear his exact words - but his intent would come through.  _ I'm proud of you. _

Nothing changed in her outward expression - but in the Force, Depa pulled away. 

_ Ah, Padawan _ , he thought, and his heart ached for her. All Jedi had to learn this lesson sooner or later, but the inevitability made it no easier to bear. 

In their small cabin on the commercial spaceliner that would return them to Coruscant, they could at last speak freely. 

"Master, please excuse me," Depa said as soon as the door closed behind them. "I need to meditate." 

"Then I will join you." 

She looked surprised, but dipped her head in acquiescence. 

They sat cross-legged, facing each other. Depa closed her eyes, and when Mace reached out to her in the Force, this time she did not reject the contact. She lowered her shields, and Mace felt her turmoil and grief. 

"What is the saber, Depa?" he asked, and heard the echo of his own master's voice speaking those words to him, so many years ago. 

"The saber is the blade of the Jedi," she replied, repeating the answer she learned in the créche. 

"And what is its function?" 

"To defend." 

"What is the Jedi?" he continued. 

"The Jedi is the blade of the Light," she answered. He nodded. 

"We will meditate on this." 

Gradually, Mace felt the storm in her mind begin to calm. He spoke again. 

"Why did you kill Gnost Korvak?" 

Depa opened her eyes. 

"He had a detonator," she said. "He was going to kill everyone at the peace summit." 

"Yes," Mace said gently, "but why did you make the choice you did?" 

Depa looked down, remembering. When she raised her head again, her eyes were bright with unshed tears. 

"I wanted to save them. The delegates, and everyone who would die if the treaty weren't signed. I didn't want to kill him, Master, but I didn't see another way." The Force was heavy with her sorrow. 

Her grave expression was at odds with her young face, round-cheeked with the last vestiges of childhood plumpness. In it he saw a glimpse of the woman she would become: compassionate, wise, someone who used her saber only as a last resort. 

"I know, Padawan." He was achingly proud of her. 

"You did well," he continued. "You saved so many." 

"I still wish…" Her voice trailed away into nothingness. He drew her into his arms. 

"Peace, Padawan," he said, and held her as she wept. 


End file.
